Join Us in A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer

March 1-3, 2007
Ruleville & Itta Bena, Mississippi

We are extremely pleased and honored to have the opportunity to stage this three-day program highlighting the legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer in her hometown. We hope that you will join us. All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. It is important that we keep her legacy alive and, above all, hold Mrs. Hamer up as a source of strength, courage, wisdom and emulation for our youth.

For more information contact Mack Jones at 662-254-3794 or by email.

All events are free and open to the public.
Contributions to help defray cost are appreciated.
Make checks payable to the Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy
Committee, C\O Mrs. Hattie Jordan P. O. Box 663
Ruleville, MS 38771.



The Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy Committe:
Mack H Jones, Mississippi Valley State University
Charles McLaurin, Civil Rights Activist (SNCC)
Patricia Thompson, ROAR
Hattie Jordan, Alderperson, City of Rueville
Leslie McLemore, Jackson State University
Hollis Watkins, Southern Echo
Yolanda Clark, Community Activist
Rickey Hill, Mississippi Valley State University
Margaret Kibbee, Civil Rights Veteran
Jimmy Lacy, Fannie Lou Hamer Nephew
Tazinski Lee, Mississippi Valley State University
Darrell Moore, Amzie Moore Estate
Jean W. Rawlings, Hamer Cultural Learning Center
David Rushing, Sunflower County Historical Society
Dr. Ron V. Myers, Sr. Juneteenth Foundation
Arlene Story-Sanders, The Rev. J. D. Story Estate
Stacy J. White, Sunflower Historical Society
Freddie White-Johnson, Hamer Cancer Foundation

Travel Information, Program Schedule, Etc.

Program schedule is available in printable .pdf format (click here) , or on the ROAR website.

Local Lodging information is available by clicking here.

Information regarding air travel and directions is available by clicking here.

Musical Tribute to Fannie Lou Hamer

Thursday, March 1, 7:30pm at Mississipi Valley State University

We are happy to announce a musical tribute to Fannie Lou Hamer, featuring:

Bernice Johnson Reagon (founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock)
Hollis Watkins,
Mississippi Valley State University Choir

This event will also feature Vincent Harding and Charles McLaurin who will offer reflections, testimonies, and personal remembrances of Mrs. Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement.

Dean Ricky Hill will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

"Five Feet Four Inches Forward", a play presented by The Sunflower County Freedom Project

Friday, March 2, 10am. Mississippi Valley State University


High school students from Indianola, Mississippi make up The Sunflower County Freedom Project. They will present the play "Five Feet Four Inches Forward," a play honoring the life of Mrs. Hamer.

The Sunflower County Freedom Project uses the history and spirit of the 1960s freedom struggle to motivate middle and high school students in rural Mississippi to become capable, college-bound leaders. Be sure to visit their blog!

Remembrances in Ruleville

Friday March 2, 2pm, Rueville, Mississippi.

We move to Ruleville, Mrs. Hamer's hometown to view photos, video clips, and other Hamer memorabilia. We will hear testimonies from some of those who worked and struggled along side her. This session is loosely structured. All who wish to do so, can pay homage to Sister Fannie Lou in the manner of their chosing.

Opening the Door to Freedom

Friday, March 2, 7pm, William Chapel Baptist Church, Ruleville

There will be a commemorative forum at William Chapel Baptist Church to give thanks for the contributions of Reverend Joe D. Story who opened William Chapel to the Movement, giving support to Mrs. Hamer and other valiant freedom fighters during the dofficult days of the 1970s.

Honor and Celebration

Saturday, March 3, Ruleville, Mississippi
We will dedicate this entire day to Mrs. Hamer. The day will start with a parade in Ruleville (10am). Immediately after the parade we will lay a wreath on the grave of Mrs. Hamer, where the good people of Ruleville, under the direction of Mrs. Hattie Jordan are erecting a lovely gazebo. Afterwards, we will all head to the Hamer Multi-purpose Building for an outdoor barebeque, testimonies, and orations. (2pm)

Who Was Fannie Lou Hamer?

This information was taken from the SNCC website:

Fannie Lou Hamer, known as the lady who was "sick and tired of being sick and tired," was born October 6, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi. She was the granddaughter of slaves. Her family were sharecroppers - a position not that different from slavery. Hamer had 19 brothers and sisters. She was the youngest of the children.

In 1962, when Hamer was 44 years old, SNCC volunteers came to town and held a voter registration meeting. She was surprised to learn that African-Americans actually had a constitutional right to vote. When the SNCC members asked for volunteers to go to the courthouse to register to vote, Hamer was the first to raise her hand. This was a dangerous decision. She later reflected, "The only thing they could do to me was to kill me, and it seemed like they'd been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember."
When Hamer and others went to the courthouse, they were jailed and beaten by the police. Hamer's courageous act got her thrown off the plantation where she was a sharecropper. She also began to receive constant death threats and was even shot at. Still, Hamer would not be discouraged. She became a SNCC Field Secretary and traveled around the country speaking and registering people to vote.

Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). In 1964, the MDFP challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. Hamer spoke in front of the Credentials Committee in a televised proceeding that reached millions of viewers. She told the committee how African-Americans in many states across the country were prevented from voting through illegal tests, taxes and intimidation. As a result of her speech, two delegates of the MFDP were given speaking rights at the convention and the other members were seated as honorable guests.

Hamer was an inspirational figure to many involved in the struggle for civil rights. She died on March 14, 1977, at the age of 59.